De prooi

At the centre of this mid-'80s Dutch murder mystery is a rather attractive girl, teenager Valerie Jaspers, played by Maayke Bouten, who looks like a cross between actresses Jennifer Connelly and Brooke Shields (as eye-candy goes, that's a pretty good combination). After Valerie's mother is flattened by a hit and run driver, an autopsy reveals that the woman Valerie had called mum for seventeen years had never actually given birth. Valerie decides to do a little amateur investigative work into her origins but finds herself the next target of her mother's killer.

This being a Dutch film, Valerie takes off her clothes quite a bit, to make love to her boyfriend, take a bath, or just for the heck of it, all of which makes the film just about bearable despite an instantly forgettable plot and very little in the way of tension or scares. Death in the Shadows also features one of the weirdest musical scores to be heard on film—strange accordion playing, random whistling, and repetitive percussion; at times it has a quirky charm, but most of the time it is bloody irritating.

Having just watched this, it's fresh in my mind. So to preface this, De Pooi (or Death in the Shadows) was included in a box set I have of mostly 30s and 40s crime thrillers. Having been made in 1985, it's the newest movie in the whole set.

As someone who loves mystery stories, I rather enjoyed this little Dutch Neo-Noir movie. I just wish I could have watched it with the original Dutch audio (that's one star knocked off). The English dub isn't outright horrible, it's pretty decent. I imagine it's a lot better in Dutch. Maayke Bouten is very pretty to look at, and she brings some good emotionality to the screen. On the other hand, her boyfriend (Erik de Vries), is very wooden, and the English dub for him really adds to it (that's another star knocked off).

The pacing may feel a little slow, but remember it's a murder mystery. We're mostly seeing through the eyes of Valerie, so as she's learning who she is, who her mother is, who her real parents are, and who the killer is, it's all unfolding as we follow Valerie. Murder mysteries tend to have the killer revealed at the very end, so it wouldn't be very interesting to learn who the killer is right away.

I do have to mention the soundtrack. It has to be the wierdest soundtrack to a movie I've ever heard. It has a bit of that 80s flair to it, but it also has what sounds like a strong Polka sound to it. It's distracting and it kind of takes you out of it. It's an extremely quirky soundtrack that doesn't really fit with the seriousness of what's going on in the movie (that's another star knocked off).

I'm honestly glad I watched this, as this is the first Dutch movie I've ever seen, and for me it's a big plus because I'm part-Dutch. I would have never watched this otherwise because physical copies of this movie are scarce.

7/10.

Death in the Shadows aka De prooi (1985) is a mediocre mystery-thriller. They do keep some mystery as to who and why is after Valerie Jaspers but it's not a great mystery. There are a handful of "thrills" but not enough to be a wonderful thriller.

It's slow in parts, which is fine to me because I like some slow films, but it may not suit some viewers who prefer a fast-paced film. The movie held my interest to a degree but it's easy to get distracted while watching this movie. It's kinda boring at times and sorta interesting at other times.

You aren't missing much if you pass on watching this film but it's not a terrible film.

5/10

It's always nice to revisit 80's film from small European countries. The budgets of the American b-movies of the days was not there. But this did lead to high creativity among the European directors.

This Dutch film makes for a very enjoyable film. Lots of typical 80s irresponsible things like cigarettes, Alcohol during work hours and unnecessary nude scenes, including with someone who had to play a teenager! From a moral point of view, this is reprehensible. Thankfully, with today's knowledge, let's not spoil the fun of watching an old movie.

I'm not sure if the movie was filmed too dark, or if the transfer from the master to my low budget Just Brigde DVD is bad. The fact is that the film is too often too dark so that many important details do not become clear. Sometimes it is so bad that you look at an almost black image for almost a full minute.

But otherwise a lot of good: It is a very exciting story of a girl who goes into a kind of identity crisis after her mother was hit by a car. The hit'n'runner doesn't give the poor kid real time for depression, because she has to fight for her life and fight for the truth. The story is also layered: on the one hand it is an adaptation of a British novel in the psychodrama genre. On the other hand, it is a Dutch interpretation of elements from the Italian 'Giallo' thriller, with some scenes being quite scary and shocking, especially for the zeitgeist.

Much bad has been written about this film, but I don't agree. This is a good film, made in a country with only a limited thriller culture and therefore limited thriller experience. It is not a Nederhorror, this film never intended to be a film like Amsterdamned. But De Prooi is exciting enough in my eyes. The ending is only slightly spoiled by the already mentioned bad lighting. Because revealing the culprit, meant as a serious plot twist, is literally lost in the darkness. But it could also just be my bad DVD transfer.

In short, a must see if you are a fan of the 1980s!

The other reviews were unduly harsh, in my opinion. People who like flashy special effects and expensive Hollywood productions won't care much for this film, but personally I'm tired of those so I liked it. This movie is very "European" so there's no bigger-than-life hero or fuzzy warm happy ending that Americans usually expect. It's not a great movie but it has a feeling about it, an atmosphere and intimacy I like. And the leading lady - Maayke (pronounced mica, like the mineral) Bouten - is very pretty. She reminds me of Brooke Shields at that age. In addition there are many interesting and pleasant scenes of Holland, having been filmed on location there. I like the unusual and sometimes eerie soundtrack too, especially the haunting theme music at the movie's end. The English over-dubbing is good and well synced with lip movements for the most part. I think this is a decent film and apt to be enjoyed by someone who likes smaller-scaled and more personal films.